# Dakota County Attorney *Elected prosecutor and civil counsel for Dakota County, Minnesota* The Dakota County Attorney is the county officer that Minnesota law charges with appearing "in all cases in which the county is a party" and with prosecuting felonies in the county.[^1] State law also provides a route by which the [[Minnesota Attorney General]] may appear for the state in a county at the county attorney's request.[^2] From September 1987 the office was held by James C. Backstrom. Reports of his retirement describe him as the longest-serving county attorney in Dakota County history; the previous record was twelve years.[^3][^4] The project's record sets the office's own descriptions of its work beside the documented outputs of its decisions. The office has said it sends every fatal officer-involved shooting to a grand jury.[^9] It has also said that "nothing improper" occurred in its use of a grand jury, with "no recommendations" made.[^10] The record also holds a 2009 public reprimand of the officeholder by the [[Minnesota Supreme Court]].[^7] It holds a 2012 reversal of a first-degree murder conviction because of the officeholder's own emails.[^8] It holds three use-of-force reviews that ended without charges.[^11] And it holds a later federal ruling on one of those cases, which ran the other way before it was itself reversed.[^12] The record shows the statements and the outcomes. It does not establish why they diverge. The record places this office inside a wider federal posture toward the State. On January 14, 2026, the [[United States Department of Justice]] issued release No. 26-21, titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*. Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified that case as a matter of general public importance.[^17] The pack does not tie that suit to the Dakota County Attorney's office, and it carries no federal action against this office. ## Who James C. Backstrom was hired as a law clerk in 1977, during his third year of law school.[^3] He became an assistant county attorney in August 1978, hired by John O. Sonsteng, and became head of the Civil Division in May 1982.[^6] He was appointed county attorney in September 1987.[^3] His last elected term ran to January 1, 2023.[^5] He announced his retirement after 33 years in the post.[^4] The project's dossier records that he ran unopposed in seven of eight elections and twice served as president of the Minnesota County Attorneys Association (MCAA).[^5] On June 23, 2009, the Minnesota Supreme Court publicly reprimanded Backstrom in *In re Petition for Disciplinary Action against James C. Backstrom*, No. A09-861. The court found a violation of Minn. R. Prof. Conduct 8.4(d) and ordered $900 in costs. Backstrom waived his procedural rights and admitted the allegations.[^7] ## What The disciplinary matter arose from an email Backstrom sent to Dakota County Medical Examiner Dr. Lindsey Thomas. In it he said he was "disturbed that a Deputy County Coroner in our community is testifying as a defense expert in prosecutions" and called this a "conflict of interest." He also threatened to withdraw support for her appointment unless she barred her subordinates from defense work.[^7][^8] The email was sent during a Washington County murder trial. During that trial, defense consulting expert Dr. Susan Roe ended her work with Nicole Beecroft's defense.[^8] On May 23, 2012, the Minnesota Supreme Court decided *State v. Beecroft*, 813 N.W.2d 814. It reversed Beecroft's first-degree premeditated murder conviction and remanded for a new trial in the interests of justice. The court held that the emails amounted to "substantial interference" with the defendant's right to present witnesses. It also held that "multiple state actors participated in a widespread, pervasive violation of a statutory and constitutional mandate."[^8] ## When - October 6, 1998: the Dakota County Attorney personally argued *Minnesota v. Carter* before the United States Supreme Court, with Attorney General Hubert H. Humphrey III on the brief. On December 1, 1998, the Court ruled 5–4 for the State. It held that short-term commercial visitors in another person's home have no legitimate expectation of privacy.[^14] - July 2008: a grand jury returned no bill in the death of Brandon Rodriguez in Hastings.[^11] - June 22, 2016: a grand jury found the shooting of Map Kong in Burnsville justified.[^11] - November 1, 2016: responding to the Kong family's civil suit, the county attorney said, "I believe it is important for the public to know that there was nothing improper done in connection with the use of a grand jury in this case." He added that "no recommendations" were made to the grand jury.[^10] - November 13, 2019: the county attorney declined to charge the five officers who fired in the July 2, 2019 killing of Isak Aden in Eagan, finding the killing legally justified. One officer was from Eagan and four were from Bloomington.[^11] - September 29, 2023: U.S. District Judge Jerry W. Blackwell denied qualified immunity to every officer who fired in the Aden case. He found a genuine dispute over whether "any immediate threat had been extinguished." On February 12, 2025, the Eighth Circuit reversed on qualified immunity. The dossier records that no settlement was paid.[^12] - July 2, 2024: four and a half months after the Burnsville killings, the office issued its use-of-force determination. It found the responding officers justified: "there is absolutely no doubt the officers were justified."[^13] ## Where The office sits at the Dakota County Judicial Center, 1560 West Highway 55, Hastings, according to the caption of *State v. Selbitschka*, No. C3-98-173 (Minn. Ct. App. Sept. 8, 1998).[^15] The *Beecroft* retrial went to Washington County District Court and was prosecuted by the Washington County Attorney's Office. On September 26, 2013, Judge John C. Hoffman convicted Beecroft of second-degree intentional murder, a reduction from first-degree.[^8] ## How The office's practice since 1990 has been to send every fatal officer-involved shooting in the county to a grand jury.[^9] The project's dossier records the office's stated principle that the grand jury receives "a fair and unbiased presentation" and no recommendations.[^11] Grand-jury proceedings are secret. The record therefore holds the office's account of the Kong proceeding, but not the proceeding itself.[^10] On June 4, 2020, the MCAA met in emergency session and voted to hand every police-involved death case to the state Attorney General. The dossier records Backstrom's support: the transfer would "improve public trust and bring consistency." It also records that no prior case was reopened.[^19] Section 8.01 provides the statutory route for the Attorney General to appear in a county on the county attorney's request.[^2] ## How much - $900: the costs ordered in the 2009 reprimand.[^7] - On August 16, 2018, the office filed a 95-page suit for Dakota County against Purdue Pharma and other opioid manufacturers under the Minnesota False Claims Act. It said the companies "must be held accountable for knowingly or negligently creating the opioid crisis through their irresponsible business practices."[^18] ## How many - 2017 figures from the office's own data release:[^18] - Adult drug cases charged: 902, against a 2008–2016 average of 449. - Methamphetamine cases: 560 of the 902. - Opioid or heroin overdose deaths in the county: 24. - Adult Drug Court referrals that year: 19. - Drug Court graduates since the court began in 2008: 79. - The office's own summary: "(This) has filled our jail and strained public health resources." - On January 16, 2019, at the Capitol, Backstrom gave the figure "fewer than 0.5% of Minnesota prisoners" as those held for marijuana offenses. He said 70% of those had prior felonies.[^18] - Three use-of-force reviews in the dossier's table (2008, 2016, 2019) ended without charges.[^11] - Two further appellate findings concern the office:[^20] - *State v. Smallwood* (Minn. Ct. App. 1998): a first-degree burglary conviction was reversed. The prosecutor had told the jury in opening statement about the defendant's offer to plead guilty, in violation of Minn. R. Evid. 410. - *State v. Pereira* (Minn. Ct. App. Dec. 1999): the court found prosecutorial misconduct but affirmed the conviction as harmless error. ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue record names this office in five pairs. Each sets a statement or decision of the office beside a documented outcome:[^8][^10][^11][^13][^14] - the 2012 *Beecroft* reversal; - the 1998 *Carter* argument; - the 2019 Aden declination and the 2023 federal denial of qualified immunity; - the 2016 "nothing improper" statement on a secret proceeding; - the 2024 Burnsville determination. The record states each item with its date. It reserves any conclusion about the officeholders' intent. ## In the Minnesota record ### Who Peter J. Orput appears as an assistant Dakota County Attorney on the 1998 *Selbitschka* caption, under Backstrom as county attorney.[^15] His published career entry lists him as an assistant Dakota County Attorney from 1997 to 1999.[^16] ## Notes [^1]: Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, *Minn. Stat. ch. 388* (current) — § 388.051 county attorney duties, including to "appear in all cases in which the county is a party" and to prosecute felonies. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/388 [^2]: Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, *Minn. Stat. § 8.01* (current) — Attorney General's authority to appear for the state in a county on the county attorney's request. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/8.01 [^3]: CBS Minnesota, *James Backstrom, Longtime Dakota County Attorney, Announces Retirement* — law clerk hire in 1977; appointment September 1987. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/james-backstrom-longtime-dakota-county-attorney-announces-retirement/ [^4]: KSTP, *Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom to retire next month after 33 years on the job* — longest-serving in county history; prior record twelve years. https://kstp.com/minnesota-news/dakota-county-attorney-james-backstrom-to-retire-next-month-after-33-years-on-the-job/5972253/ [^5]: Star Tribune, *Longtime Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom announces retirement* — elected term ran to January 1, 2023; cited with the project's Backstrom dossier for unopposed seven of eight and MCAA president twice. https://www.startribune.com/longtime-dakota-county-attorney-james-backstrom-announces-retirement/600008469 [^6]: Sun ThisWeek, *Citing health, Backstrom announces retirement* — assistant county attorney August 1978, hired by John O. Sonsteng; Civil Division head May 1982. https://www.hometownsource.com/sun_thisweek/community/dakota_county/citing-health-backstrom-announces-retirement/article_b7e84db0-51fa-11eb-b122-f302b8e1d1bb.html [^7]: Minnesota Supreme Court, *In re Petition for Disciplinary Action against James C. Backstrom*, No. A09-861 (June 23, 2009) — public reprimand under Rule 8.4(d); $900 costs; allegations admitted. https://mn.gov/web/prod/static/lawlib/live/archive/supct/0906/ORA090861-0623.pdf [^8]: Minnesota Supreme Court, *State v. Beecroft*, 813 N.W.2d 814 (Minn. May 23, 2012) — reversal and remand; holdings and email text as carried in the project's validated *Backstrom Apex Dossier* §IV and at-issue row AI-Dakota-001; retrial outcome per the same dossier. (Opinion URL not among the pack's allowed sources.) [^9]: CBS Minnesota, *Burnsville shooting grand jury* — office policy since 1990 of grand-jury review of fatal officer-involved shootings. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/burnsville-shooting-grand-jury/ [^10]: Patch, *Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom responds to Burnsville police lawsuit* (Nov. 1, 2016) — "nothing improper" statement; "no recommendations." https://patch.com/minnesota/burnsville/dakota-county-attorney-james-backstrom-responds-burnsville-police-lawsuit [^11]: Project validated dossier, *Backstrom Apex Dossier* §III (2026-09-02), and at-issue row AI-Dakota-022 — Rodriguez, Kong and Aden outcomes; Nov. 13, 2019 declination; stated grand-jury principle. (Underlying source URLs not among the pack's allowed sources.) [^12]: Project validated dossier, *Backstrom Apex Dossier* §III (2026-09-02) — D. Minn. No. 0:2020cv01508, order of Sept. 29, 2023 (Blackwell, J.); 8th Cir. No. 23-3391 (Feb. 12, 2025). (Court URLs not among the pack's allowed sources.) [^13]: Project at-issue row AI-Dakota-033, *Dakota Claims Exposure Matrix* (2026-09-02) — July 2, 2024 Burnsville use-of-force determination, as reported by KSTP. (Article URL not among the pack's allowed sources.) [^14]: Project at-issue row AI-Dakota-008, *Backstrom Apex Dossier* §V (2026-09-02) — *Minnesota v. Carter*, argued Oct. 6, 1998, decided Dec. 1, 1998, 5–4. (Court URLs not among the pack's allowed sources.) [^15]: Minnesota Court of Appeals, *State v. Selbitschka*, No. C3-98-173 (Sept. 8, 1998) (unpublished) — caption naming Backstrom and Orput and the Hastings office address. https://law.justia.com/cases/minnesota/court-of-appeals/1998/173-1.html [^16]: Patch (Waukesha), *Full List Of 250 Who Signed Brendan Dassey Pardon Letter* (Oct. 24, 2019) — Orput entry: Assistant Dakota County Attorney 1997–1999. https://patch.com/wisconsin/waukesha/full-list-250-who-signed-brendan-dassey-pardon-letter [^17]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — release title; certification by Attorney General Bondi. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime [^18]: Project validated dossier, *Backstrom Apex Dossier* §V (2026-09-02) — 2017 office data release as reported by Sun ThisWeek; Aug. 16, 2018 opioid suit as reported by CBS Minnesota; Jan. 16, 2019 testimony. (Underlying URLs not among the pack's allowed sources.) [^19]: Project validated dossier, *Backstrom Apex Dossier* §III (2026-09-02) — MCAA vote of June 4, 2020, and Backstrom's statement, as reported by CBS Minnesota and Star Tribune. (Underlying URLs not among the pack's allowed sources.) [^20]: Project validated dossier, *Backstrom Apex Dossier* §IV (2026-09-02) — *State v. Smallwood* (Minn. Ct. App. 1998), Dakota County File No. K1-96-2511; *State v. Pereira* (Minn. Ct. App. Dec. 1999). (Court URLs not among the pack's allowed sources.)